


Power of the Pink Pants

by UnicornAffair



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Megaforce, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Other Rangers will be in as background, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants AU, Troy/Emma is not endgame, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-15 13:38:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16064264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Kimberly Hart, Mia Watanabe and Emma Goodall were attached at the hip ever since they were born; as if their friendship, or rather sisterhood, was destined to be. With graduation from high school meant moving on with their next step in life; college. Angel Grove State University, Yale, NYU; daunting new beginnings. The girls would be separated in distance but never in spirit. One material object would always keep the girls bound to fate, a pair of pink pants that came into their lives at the right moment.Maybe it was superstitious to believe in them, but whenever one would wear them...magic happened.Aka: A Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants AU





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> For those who follow me on tumblr (unicornaffair) you know I've been hinting at something called my "Secret September" Project. While this is NOT it, I AM still working on that as well. It's just so big and so involved and I want that to be perfect before I actually post it. Unfortunately for that one I have to finish it ALL before even posting the first chapter so. We'll have to wait a bit on that. 
> 
> Onto this fic! This is just a cute idea of something that's been in my head. I love me a good AU :)

The stars aligned for best friends Kimberly Hart, Mia Watanabe and Emma Goodall. It was practically destiny; their mother’s had met during lamaze class, only to find out that their due dates would be on the exact same  _ day.  _ Well, Mia Watanabe and Emma Goodall were both on February 13th, but stubborn Kimberly Hart had to be the  _ special _ one, and was born at 12:14 AM making her officially a Valentine’s Day baby. She would  _ always _ get teased about this from her two best friends, that no matter what she would be the baby of the group. Still, due to the closeness of their mothers, they were practically inseparable growing up. They were always on the same sports team, or wanted to be in the same cabin at camp, Halloween meant group costumes; ever since fifth grade they decided to  _ always _ be the  _ Pink Ladies _ from the musical sensation Grease. The three had  _ such _ a strong bond, so strong that they might as well be sisters. 

By the time the girls reached high school, they were starting to get into different activities. Mia ran for school president, which of course she had Emma and Kim as campaign managers. She had gone the academic route, national honors society, science olympiad, French club, Asian cultural club, started the gay straight alliance club, she had  _ dreams _ of making it into an ivy league school like Yale, or Princeton... _ Harvard _ if she were really reaching for the stars. It meant trying to be well rounded to look as best as possible on a resume, she played viola since fifth grade, she joined the golf team in junior high as well as the track and field team, and often volunteered for humanitarian projects and somehow roped her best friends into joining her; much to Kimberly’s dismay.

While Mia went  _ hard _ for academic success, Emma had a much more relaxing high school experience. While wanting to support Mia as much as she could, she took on other activities; such as yearbook as an excuse to practice taking pictures with her camera as well as doing anything she could to get her two best friends into the yearbook as much as possible. Out of the three girls Emma was definitely the artist, always wanting to create something beautiful. When she wasn’t out taking pictures, she practiced painting and sketching. Once she reached high school, that was when she tried breaking out of her shell and joined the drama club. Playing Juliet in the famed Romeo and Juliet had been the story of her first kiss with fellow classmate Orion. Kimberly and Mia promised that no matter how busy their schedules got, they would watch Emma’s productions.   

Then there was Kimberly Hart; while Mia and Emma had a pretty clean high school career...Kimberly rode the popular train straight to the top. She joined the cheerleading squad, which in turn made her one of the most liked girls in the school. With her popularity came some  _ bad _ decisions at parties. Ultimately Mia and Emma would have to make sure she got to one of their houses okay, and then helped her ride out any hangovers the next morning. Kimberly almost  _ always _ had a guy on her arm, namely Ty Fleming a douche-hole of a boyfriend who  _ definitely _ had eyes for other girls while still dating Kimberly. It got ugly,  _ real _ quick when Kimberly was found responsible for sending out a nude photo of one of her fellow cheerleaders. Even when she served detention every Saturday until her school year was over, and she lost any ‘friend’ she had made under her reign as head cheerleader. Still, Emma and Mia stayed by their younger ‘sister’s’ side, they wouldn’t let her feel alone; despite Kimberly’s mistakes.

Nothing would ever split these girls up. Not in spirit. Only in distance.

Mia had been accepted into her second choice school, Yale, so she would be moving across the country to New Haven, Connecticut to live out her dream. Emma on the other hand wanted a change of pace in her life and if she were to go to art school  _ anywhere,  _ New York would be for the best. NYU gave her a stable institution to try stepping her toes into the big apple...and Kimberly, well, she would be staying in Southern California...deciding to go to Angel Grove State University. As much as she loved her best friends, she couldn’t quite make a move all the way across the country. It meant the summer between senior year of high school would be the last time they see each other in person until Emma and Mia come home for Thanksgiving. In a way it felt like Kimberly was being left behind.

What made matters worse, was that for Kimberly, she was going to have to pick up a job. After the debacle with the famed ‘photo’ incident, her parents decided that they would pay for their daughters tuition, but that was  _ it.  _ She had to learn the value of a dollar. If she wanted any of her  _ own _ money to play with...she would have to apply herself and balance out a job while also doing what she could to keep her grades up. No more allowances to fall back on.

“Did you start applying?” Mia, of  _ course,  _ stepped up into the oldest sister role and asked Kimberly what she was planning on doing with her life. The three of them didn’t have much time left in their summer, today they would be shopping for clothes to start getting excited for their big moves. They had spent most of their time at the beach, enjoying the sun, with Emma taking as many pictures as she could to give the other two girls a memory book of their lives so far. 

“What’re you? My mom?” Kimberly asked, jutting out her tongue to mock her best friend. Emma shook her head in favor of sipping on her bright red slushie. When it came to clashes of Kimberly and Mia...she did her best to stay in the middle. It wasn’t that Mia and Kim  _ fought,  _ their relationship was  _ never _ malicious, it was more of a case where they didn’t quite see eye to eye on everything.

“If I were, I wouldn’t let you wear this” Mia smiled, clearly  _ kidding, _ when she made a motion to Kimberly’s low cut shirt, bringing focus to the amount of extra cleavage Kim had been sporting that fine day. 

“Come on, this is our last week” Emma threw away her empty cup, her lips now covered in a shade of red. She linked her arms, one with Kim and one with Mia, in order to get them moving along. “And I for one want to start it out by having  _ fun” _

“We are having fun” Kimberly and Mia both replied within a beat, then laughing when they realized they had said the exact same thing at the exact same time. Clearly the three of them spent far too much time together. 

Once the three girls entered the boutique, Kimberly  _ insisted _ on playing her favorite game...for old time sakes. When they were younger, Kimberly convinced the other two girls that trying on clothes wasn’t  _ so _ hard or the worst thing ever; not when they could have fun with picking the most ridiculous thing they could find in the store to wear with no intention of actually buying it. It was a way for Kim to try and break Emma and Mia out of their quieter shells. Kimberly Hart was a master at dressing her best friends up in the craziest outfits. Whether it be insane looking hats, to flashy jackets, to puffy vests, or pants with far too many belts on them; Kim could find  _ anything _ for the sake of embarrassing her friends, and thus ‘winning’ the made up agame.

Today she thought she struck gold by choosing a pink pair of pants for Emma to wear. Only, when Emma stepped out of the dressing room she  _ actually _ pulled them off. “Wow! Who knew Emma Goodall had an ass like  _ that”  _ Kimberly’s grin was all too wide, too mischievous that Mia had to shush her just so more attention wouldn’t be drawn in on their shyer friend. “What? She looks amazing”

“I look okay” Emma replied sheepishly, she chanced taking a look in the mirror to see how well she was  _ rocking _ this pink pair of pants. “...You don’t think they’re a bit...flashy?”

“...Kim’s _ not _ wrong” Mia stepped forward, trying to be the  _ more _ reassuring by resting her hands on Emma’s shoulders, “But if  _ you _ don’t want them, I think I’ll try them on”

“What?” Emma asked, surprised that someone as straight laced as Mia would go for  _ pink _ pants as opposed to settling with jeans or a skirt, something more  _ conservative.  _ “Seriously?”

“Mhmm” Mia nodded her head, curving her hand inward to beckon Emma to take off those pants and give them to her quick. “Yale is a chance to try and reinvent myself, or  _ try _ something new. I’ve been the same old Mia forever and...where’s that gotten me?”

“To  _ Yale”  _ Emma responded practically, having turned to go back into the dressing room to change privately. 

“Yeah, but I’ve never had a boyfriend before” Mia dedicated her entire high school career to getting into Yale and now that she had made it, she wanted to take a breather and  _ try _ to experience a social life outside of pre-planned activities...to  _ date.  _ “I’ve never had a  _ girlfriend _ before either” She added, another thing the three girls had in common; proud bisexual ladies. 

“You really think a pink pair of pants are going to help you hook a date?” Kim asked, skeptical at Mia’s reasoning. Just because that pair of pants looked good on Emma, didn’t mean that they would look good on the senior class president. “You should just join tinder” 

“Do not encourage her” Emma pointed a finger at Kimberly as she exited the changing room stall, keeping it open for Mia to slip in behind her. “Tinder just seems  _ unsafe”  _

Kimberly rolled her eyes, she loved her best friends like sisters...but it wasn’t like Emma could really speak for  _ her _ dating history. “No offense Em, but your high school sweetheart turned out to be gay” Orion from drama club? The guy that always wore a silver jacket? Yeah, they should’ve seen it coming. “Leave the dating advice to someone who’s  _ had _ sex”

Emma folded her arms, her lips upturned into the biggest of frowny faces, “We….kind of did it” Oh sweet innocent Emma, it was hard for Kimberly  _ not _ to laugh at her best friend’s misfortune. She and Mia had already heard the ‘story’, it totally  _ did  _ not count, but Kim and Mia didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.

Not wanting to think or picture Emma and Orion together in a biblical sense, Mia came out of the dressing room to show her best friends what the pink pair of pants looked like on her. “Well?” She didn’t like the way Kimberly and Emma’s eyes widened at the sight, neither of them uttered a  _ word.  _ “...God, that bad?”

_ “No”  _ Kimberly shook her head, breaking the silence, “Mia Watanabe is  _ hot”  _ To which Mia playfully shoved her shoulder, she wasn’t  _ used _ to being called the  _ hot  _ one outside of getting into a streak during academic decathlon questions.

“They  _ do _ look really nice on you” Emma had to agree, tilting her head to the side to check her friend out. “I like them”

Mia had to see her reflection in the mirror, her friends weren’t kidding...they  _ did _ fit her well, perfectly even. “Huh, I didn’t expect to  _ actually _ like these…” Kimberly and Emma could see the gears turning in their best friend’s head, she was definitely considering getting them to shake up her college wardrobe. 

“Okay, my turn” Kimberly did  _ not _ want out of this little thing, “What? I want to see what it looks like on  _ me”  _ She unbuttoned her pants right there, “Pink is totally my color” As if it wasn’t Mia and Emma’s.

“Ohmygosh” Mia shoved Kimberly in the direction of the changing room, if that meant getting undressed in the same booth so be it. After this many years of friendship, changing around each other didn’t phase them at all. “You need to work on your patience, you can’t just strip out there” 

“Whatever, now we’re in here...do...do you need help getting those off?”

With the two of them in the dressing room, it left Emma outside waiting, standing there awkwardly wishing she didn’t finish her slushie to give herself something to do with her hands until Kim would make her dramatic exit...somethings would never change. 

As predicted, Kimberly exited the dressing room with her arms extended wide, a huge grin on her face, “And the crowd goes wild” Mia had been shaking her head behind her, just wanting to pass Kimberly to join Emma on the outside. “God, I look amazing in these” Like older sisters, Emma and Mia exchanged a knowing glance. Kimberly never shied away from giving herself blatant compliments. “Okay, you know  _ one _ of us has to buy these”

“But they look good on all  _ three _ of us” Emma frowned, knowing that Kimberly would  _ definitely _ try to trick her way into obtaining the pants. “Who should get them?”

Kimberly pouted, here comes the start of the tricks, “Guys, I’m practically getting cut off once school starts...who knows when I’ll have the chance to buy  _ any _ new clothes or have fun again…” Drama queen. 

“And when you get a job, you’ll have the money for it” Mia had  _ no _ sympathy for the richest of the three friends. “Kim, you don’t  _ need _ them...if anything I think  _ I  _ should get them” As excited as Mia was to go to one of her dream schools, she didn’t let it off that she was also nervous as hell about uprooting her entire life and moving across the country. She wouldn’t be the top dog anymore,  _ everyone _ at Yale would be overachievers. 

While the two argued, Emma did the sensible thing and tried to see if there was any other pairs of pants and if there were...to see if it came in the same size. As admirable as her search had been, her results came up dry. There were  _ no _ other pink pants in the store...just  _ these _ ones. When Emma returned to her bickering friends she cleared her throat to get their attention, trying not to sound  _ super _ miffed that she wasn’t even an  _ option _ to get the pants. “What if we share them?”

“Joint custody on a pair of pants?” Kimberly questioned, judgement lacing her tone, “Seriously?” 

Mia folded her arms, considering it, as she knew trying to fight Kim for them would probably end with Kimberly tiring her out and flat out winning. “...I wouldn’t be opposed to sharing” 

Kimberly wasn’t as convinced, “What? How would that even work?”

“It could be kind of fun” Emma smiled, “What are the chances a  _ pair of pants _ could make all  _ three _ of us look this good?” Especially a  _ pink _ pair of pants. As much as they loved the color, it wasn’t exactly the easiest to pull off in a pant. “We could make it like a thing” Knowing that Mia loved structure and rules, Emma continued on, “Let’s make this fun. Like every two weeks or something, we ship it to the next girl in some sort of rotation...put a letter inside about what happened while wearing them” 

They didn’t have to say it. All three girls knew their sisterhood would face the biggest challenge yet,  _ long distance.  _ The three girls would have to rely totally on texting, social media and the occasional video call to keep in the loop. Sending a letter the old fashioned way, could be a fun way to also keep in contact in addition to those things. A lot could be said in a letter that may not be able to be put down into a text. Yale, NYU, AGSU...the college experience in general meant that all three of the girls would get busy with classes and making their new friends. That was the way life worked after all, so if a pair of pink pants could keep a spark of their friendship alive...it would be dumb  _ not  _ to at least try. 

“...Well…” Kimberly was the hardest one to convince, but even in the end she could share the pants in the name of friendship, “Okay” 

“Great” So it was decided, Mia clapped her hands to get Kimberly back into the dressing room to change back into her jeans so they could pay and move on with their day, “I call first dibs” The  _ responsible  _ one of the group was quick to explain  _ why,  _ “I want it for my first day, and if  _ any  _ of us is going to  _ actually _ ship it to the next person it’s  _ me”  _ She had a fair point, something this complicated and involved the post office...they had to get the ball rolling proper. Emma and Mia knew that if  _ anyone _ were to drop the ball right out of the gate...it’d be Kimberly.

*****

Kimberly wasn’t sure what was harder, saying goodbye to her best friends of eighteen years as they moved across country, or starting her social life over from scratch. When Kimberly came to Angel Grove State University, she wanted a clean slate; she didn’t want to be  _ known _ as the cheerleader who stabbed her best friend in the back. Maybe in the past, Kimberly would’ve been interested in Greek life and a  _ new _ kind of sisterhood...but there was  _ no _ replacing Emma and Mia in her heart. As far as roommates went, Kimberly did  _ not _ luck out in a Rita Repulsa. Seriously. The roommate from  _ hell.  _ Rita would leave her side of the room an absolute mess, have no regards for Kimberly’s sleep schedule and would play her music whenever she wanted. The  _ worst _ was that she never left any indication that her blockhead of a boyfriend Zedd was in the room so...Kimberly had walked in on far too many uncomfortable naked encounters. It was safe to say that she wasn’t going to become besties with Rita, she just wanted to survive the semester. 

Kimberly thought with classes she may make a new friend, everyone was in the same boat after all. It was just, people out here could be so flaky with actually  _ confirming _ plans. She could wait for hours for someone to respond a confirmation to going out, only to get a last minute ‘sorry’. For once in her life, people were trying to  _ avoid _ spending time with her in favor of  _ something better.  _ Kimberly missed the presence of Mia and Emma  _ so _ much, and hoped that their college experiences were going better than hers. It sucked that their only communication was through texting, and group messages. She never expected the first couple of days to feel  _ this _ lonely. 

As she waited for her French 204 class to start, she was joined by a familiar face. Jason Scott of her former high school’s football team. They ran in the same crowd, so he felt comfortable sitting next to her, but outside of parties they never really interacted much. Still, for once this week Kimberly felt a bit of relief when he awkwardly smiled in her direction. “Hey” A wordsmith at his finest. 

It had already been a week, and this was the first time Kimberly had seen the former Tiger in this class, “You take French?”

The former quarterback nodded his head, “I didn’t take enough foreign language credits in high school, so...here I am” His football career had ultimately ended on an unfortunate injury to his leg, it meant any hopes of getting a scholarship was shot so his best option was the in state school. 

_ “You _ take  _ French?”  _ Kimberly repeated judgement lacing her tone, her brow arching, all of the football players she knew had taken Spanish and had the reputation of annoying the  _ hell _ out of the teachers. When football players were in the same class...it caused a lot of trouble. 

Jason shrugged his shoulders, even though he was apart of the football team, he had always felt a bit  _ different _ from the rest of the herd. “...I thought it’d be a great way to meet girls…” He admitted, he wasn’t wrong, more girls took French than boys did. 

“How did that work out for you?” Kimberly asked, tilting her head to the side, she never remembered Jason having a  _ girlfriend,  _ throughout his high school career. He sure as hell didn’t have a date to prom after blowing the football team’s chances at playoffs.

“I’m talking to you aren’t I?” The boy responded with a hopeful smile. Honestly, it was so refreshing to see a familiar face. “Hey, ah, after class did you maybe want to grab lunch with me?”

“Are you asking me out?”

“No-no that’s not…” Jason had to backtrack on his words,  _ was _ he asking her out? He didn’t seem to think so, “I mean yes but, no? As a friend?” He had to sigh, just as the teacher was coming in, he didn’t have as much time to explain himself, “It sucks to eat alone” God, he sounded so defeated.

Kimberly knew that feeling  _ all _ too well, she trusted that Jason was actually  _ genuine _ in wanting to spend time with her. If for the fact that neither of them were adjusting to the transition to college very well, “I’d be happy to” That brought a smile to the former quarterback’s face. It would be nice to reconnect...boy would Mia and Emma get a kick out of this.  

Who knew Jason Scott spoke better French than he did English? When class actually started, the teacher would ask for his students to partner up and go through speaking exercises to practice their new vocabulary. Naturally, now that dialogue had started between the two, Jason and Kimberly paired up. As much as she missed having Emma and Mia in the same French class it was nice to share a language that she loved with someone that  _ didn’t _ treat it like a joke. The hardest part about a foreign language class was that it could be a total crapshoot of people taking it, some people actually _ wanted _ to learn the language, others were just there to check off a box. Out of her three best friends, Mia of course was the  _ most _ intense as she was in French Club and stuck with the language all the way to the AP level. Emma and Kimberly had fun with the class, but they weren’t as dedicated, still they took the standard French course throughout their entire high school career. Kimberly never expected how much she would miss something as simple as speaking a different language, as some sort of code, with her best friends when they didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversations. It drove their parents crazy. 

When class had finally ended, Jason and Kimberly walked from their building to a place  _ off _ campus that Jason swore by. A sports bar by the name of  _ Zordon’s.  _ Kimberly had heard  _ of _ it through campus tours, that it was one of the more in town famous places to go. Honestly, she expected a bit more when she entered the family owned establishment, it wasn’t a Buffalo Wild Wings by any means. A humble bar, tvs, a billiard table and plenty of booths to sit in. It made for the perfect watering hole for the college kid population. 

“So, ah” Jason looked down at his menu, unsure of how to start a conversation. 

“Run into anyone else from high school?” Kimberly threw him a bone, it wasn’t easy to make a new friend, even with someone who she knew and saw as an acquaintance. 

The former quarterback across the way chuckled, clearly Kim wasn’t the first one he had run into, “Billy Cranston’s actually on my floor, he lucked out and got a single...he’s actually pretty popular” Jason sat back, it was weird, he was so used to being on top as a quarterback...now a nobody like Billy has all of the friends, “He’s got a couple of gaming systems in his room...so”

“Billy Cranston is... _ popular?”  _ Kimberly was surprised by the news, she didn’t know  _ much  _ about Billy, just that he was infamous for blowing up a toilet with dry ice back during junior year. “That’s not a sentence I thought I’d ever say”

Jason cracked a smile, “Right?” 

Their waiter showed up, an Asian boy with a black t-shirt; a white  _ Zordon’s  _ logo plastered across it. He carried himself with a nonchalant energy, totally relaxed and in his element. There hadn’t been much of lunch rush yet, so he had some time to take his good old time. “Hey, welcome to Zordon’s I’m Zack...I’ll be your server today” He had to ask, “This your first time here?” Was it that obvious that they were freshman?

“Uh I’ve been” Jason glanced across the table to Kim, “She hasn’t” 

“Alright, alright, well if you check out the back of the menu you can see that we specialize in wings” Zack flipped Kim’s menu to show a thermometer, the hottest wings were on the top while the cooler ones were at the bottom. “Best on campus. We’re also known for the seven wing spice challenge if you’re daring” The waiter pointed to a wall of fame, Kimberly and Jason were quick to notice that their waiter  _ Zack _ was one of the prized champions of said challenge. “Many have attempted but if you win you get a cool t-shirt, ‘bout 100 bucks, and a spot up there”

Jason pointed to one of the types chicken wings on the menu, “Is the Zack-Attack named after you?”

The waiter folded his arms, tilting his head to the side, he didn’t  _ want  _ to brag but clearly this was an exciting honor for him, “Yep, but I wouldn’t recommend if you can’t handle the heat” He winked in Kimberly’s direction, “Can I get you guys started with something to drink?”

Like a gentleman, Jason motioned for Kimberly to order first, “Oh, I’ll just have a water” If Jason  _ were _ in fact paying she didn’t want to charge the boy extra over a beverage...as good as a pink lemonade sounded. It really dawned to her how much she’d need a job, if her parents weren’t going to give her  _ any _ cash, she couldn’t enjoy something as basic as eating  _ off _ campus. 

“I’ll have a coke” 

Zack scratched the back of his neck, “Is pepsi okay?”

Jason frowned, clearly upset by the devastating news, but he nodded his head agreeing to the minor inconvenience, “Yeah, that should be just fine”   

When Zack left to get their drinks ready to go, Kimberly needed to keep the conversation going and by  _ that _ it meant she wanted to vent about  _ one _ thing, “So, what’s  _ your _ roommate situation like?”

“Not bad” He shrugged, “A little quiet if anything” His eyes widened as he continued to talk, “Really into martial arts...ah Tommy Oliver, if you’ve ever had a class with him. I will say, for a dude he actually pulls off having long hair” As a jock, Jason didn’t really run into a lot of guys with longer hair than girls very often, “I mean he’s nice, we get along so...I can’t complain” 

“Well I can” Kimberly heaved out a sigh, of  _ course _ Jason had better luck with a roommate situation. In her mind guys had it a lot simpler than girls did when it came to pairing off, socially men were pretty straightforward while girl world? Oh ho ho, as a former cheerleader, Kimberly had plenty of experience navigating female friendships...outside of Emma and Mia of course. “She’s literally a terror, the nights where she goes to her boyfriends are the best because that means I can sleep” 

“She leaves  _ gum _ everywhere, like, why? What is so hard about putting it back in the wrapper and throwing it out? She puts her name on  _ everything  _ in the fridge that’s hers. Oh drinks  _ straight _ from the milk carton.  _ Doesn’t _ lock the door if her boyfriend  _ is _ over and guess what they’re doing” Kimberly shook her head, “I’ll tell you it isn’t rated E for everyone” The amount of _ times _ she walked in and saw  _ far  _ too much of Rita’s boyfriend. His naked body haunted the back of her mind. “She doesn’t own any headphones so when she wants to play her music...ugh...ugh. I wouldn’t put it past her to start wearing my clothes either”

“Wow…” Jason blinked, he really couldn’t complain about the likes of Tommy Oliver  _ ever _ again, “That sucks I’m so sorry”

Just in the nick of time, Zack brought over a pair of drinks and clapped his hands together, “We know what we’re getting?”

“I’ll just have your buffalo chicken wrap” Kimberly was the first to order, she wasn’t as much of a wings person so she picked something else off of the menu. 

“And I’m going to have a dozen of the standard wings. Six of those are going to be spicy garlic and ah the other six lets go with a medium sauce” 

“Fries okay with both of those?” Kimberly and Jason nodded, “Cool, I’ll put these in for you right away” 

Kimberly sighed, leaning back against the booth, now they could relax a bit more. “I guess I thought college would be a lot  _ easier? _ Meeting new people...it kind of sucks”

“You’re not doing rush week?” Jason asked curiously, as he always just assumed that Kimberly would be the type of girl to try being in a sorority. 

“Are  _ you?”  _ Kimberly threw the question right back at him, as a former jock it seemed like a natural place for him to try and settle in as well. 

“...No…” He shook his head, his shoulders slumping, “I never really liked that crowd much while I was in it” It was true, Jason Scott tended to be a bit of a loner even with his team. He would always  _ attend _ parties of course, but he kept to himself and a circle of a couple of other guys from the team that were on the quieter side. “Nows my chance to...reinvent myself or whatever so, I feel like that’d just be falling back on something safe? I don’t know. I want to make different choices”

“That’s kind of where I’m at” Kimberly didn’t want to put herself in another girl world situation, she had done it with the cheerleading team and  _ that _ blew up in her face. It was time to try something new, and that meant  _ not _ falling back into a greek life safety net. “Besides, I have to get a job” Jason tilted his head, his brows furrowing, “My parents basically cut me off” Another push into adulthood, “Which sucks”

“I know the sandwich place on campus is hiring” Jason offered, trying to be helpful.

“Yeah, I know” Kimberly sighed, “But they look  _ miserable _ every time I’m there”

“I’m not sure you can really be  _ that _ picky when it comes to finding a job” Jason didn’t think there were going to be that many options nearby for a college kid to work and balance out classes. 

“I don’t even want to think about it…” But pushing it back further and further was going to make matters worse. She  _ knew _ that, but, ugh. “Though I guess it’d keep me out of my room” And away from Rita Repulsa, ha, more like Rita Repulsive. 

“Well if you  _ ever _ need an escape, I’m in Harshman Hall” Jason offered, did this mean that they were actually friends now? 

“I may have to take you up on that” If Kim were to be honest, she wouldn’t mind a place to vent that wasn’t the hallway lounge. 

A short Latina girl came over with a tray of food to set on empty table so she can easily hand the two patrons their food. Unlike Zack, she wore a yellow shirt with a black version of the  _ Zordon’s _ logo printed on it. Kimberly had to bite her lip, and look to Jason.  _ Ugh.  _ He wasn’t Mia or Emma, he wouldn’t understand the  _ look, _ the  _ message _ Kimberly was trying to send. The message of:  _ hottie alert.  _ Thick hair with blonde highlights at the end, and damn, it was so cool the way she had two braids on the side of her head. 

“Zack had to leave so, I’m Trini, I’ll be taking care of you from now on so if you need anything...” She trailed off, noticing how  _ red _ Kimberly’s face was. Trini’s eyes darted to the half empty water glass, “I’ll get you a refill on this” The waitress grabbed Kimberly’s cup and headed to the waitress station. 

Jason, of course, was completely oblivious to this. He just took a bite of one of his medium wings and closed his eyes, “Woo, this is so good” Kim could already tell he was going to make for a crackerjack wingman with his observational skills and the way he picks up cues. 

“Okay….is it  _ just _ me, or is everyone who works here  _ really _ hot?” Kimberly lowered her voice, leaning forward to get closer to Jason. She’d be mortified if anyone who actually worked here overheard  _ that.  _

The former jock hadn’t noticed, he licked the sauce off of his fingers and leaned back in the booth so he could crane his neck and check out the young black woman standing behind the bar. Captain Obvious, much? Kimberly was just about to kick him under the table. God. He needed so many lessons. People Watching 101 in how to check someone out without them knowing, “Oh  _ she’s _ hot”

“Okay well” Kimberly noticed  _ who _ Jason had honed in on, “Yeah, she’s out of your league” On  _ that _ note Jason put on his best pouty face and returned to sitting normally. “Sorry”

Jason didn’t take much offense for it longer than three seconds, he simply shrugged and picked up another wing, “Maybe you should apply to work here?” He laughed, “You meet the hot girl requirement” 

Trini returned with Kimberly’s water refill. Kim simply  _ prayed _ that she didn’t overhear  _ that,  _ “Anything else I can get you?”

“Nope” Kimberly shook her head, “You’re perfect” What the  _ fuck _ was  _ that?  _ Even Jason looked a bit perplexed at Kimberly’s reponse. 

Kimberly sighed in relief once Trini had left their table, only for Jason to repeat as a joke, “You’re perfect” Yeah, Kimberly did  _ not  _ feel bad throwing a fry at him. Still, if anything, she felt good about having  _ someone _ here in Angel Grove to do something as simple as go out to dinner with. 

*****

When Kimberly returned to her dorm she was already sending off a text message to the Pink Ladies chat, a simple.  _ ‘You’ll never guess who I had lunch with’.  _ Their group chat felt like such a safety blanket on these first couple of weeks of school. Entering her room she saw an opened package sitting on her bed, Rita sitting on the other side of the room eating out of a box of chocolates that were probably  _ not _ meant for her. 

“You got a package” She announced, not even looking up from their tv. Maury was about to announce if the man  _ was _ the father or not and Rita couldn’t be bothered with Kimberly distracting her from it. 

“Thanks” Kimberly didn’t even have the energy to fight this one, she sat on her bed to see that the package was from New Haven. It was from Mia and this would be the first rotation of getting the magical pink pair of pants. It warmed Kimberly’s heart to see the familiar pants, a physical reminder of her friendship with the other two girls. Of course with it being Mia, the older sister type was sure to put other things in the care package. The chocolates, medicine such as aspirin and dayquil/nyquil as if Kimberly would be too stubborn to buy it herself if she ever needed it. What drew her attention was a pink envelope with  _ Kimberly _ written on it in beautiful calligraphy. 

_ Kimberly,  _

_ I miss you, I miss Emma. Adjusting to Yale has been an emotional journey but I have my schedule down. Oh the coffee out here is to die for. I hope one day you get a chance to visit so I can give you a proper tour. Anyway, the point of these letters are to tell a story of what happened while wearing the pants and I think you’ll especially get a kick out of this. So I’m getting my bearings and I find myself in this beautiful park. I’m not really one to take walks, you know this, but there was something that drew me there. I can’t really describe it. Like I needed to be there.  _

_ I’m walking down the path around this gorgeous pond, I cannot wait to see it in the fall when the colors of the leaves change. Emma will have to visit to take pictures, she would love it here. Sorry, I’m rambling even in writing. So there’s this blonde girl walking towards me, and she’s walking her dog a; shiba inu...you know how much I love that kind of dog. The dog sees me and completely shakes himself free of the collar to pounce on me. Do you ever see those videos of soldiers coming back from war and reuniting with their dogs? Like THAT. It was like this dog knew me in a past life and just wanted to reconnect. Kimberly. You don’t understand how stunning this girl is. I was floored, and that was after she got the dog off of me. Blonde, blue eyes, the body of Wonder Woman...you get where I’m going with this. Her name’s Lauren, she bought me a churro as an apology for her dog-his name’s Boom by the way. I even got her number, I like her SO much. But here’s the kicker. On the second day of classes I come to find out that she’s one of my TA’s. What am I going to do!?  _

_ This is going to be a long semester. _

_ I love you so much Kim. I made sure to pack you some medicine because I know you. Hope you like the chocolates! Lauren actually pointed out the little shop. It’s one of her favorites. I really am adjusting well and I think I may be crazy when I say that these pants are magic but they’re definitely my good luck charm!  _

_ I hope they bring you luck.  _

_ XOXO _

_ Mia _

“Damn girl” Kimberly’s smile grew upon reading the letter, she would have to keep it in a sentimental box. Mia was never the type of girl that had much luck when it came to romance and now she  _ definitely _ had the hots for a teacher’s assistant. Now if it were Kimberly she would  _ totally _ go for it anyway and not care, but...Mia was always one to stick by the rules. She dug through the box to pull out the pink pants. 

 

Maybe she’d give applying to Zordon’s a shot, because now she’d have some luck on her side.


	2. Welcome to Zordon's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly hopes that the pink pants will bring her some good luck as she interviews for her first job ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy!! <3 thanks for reading :)
> 
> There will be snippets of Mia and Emma's stories to go along with Kimberly's as this fic progresses but the longest bits will of course be dedicated to Trimberly.

What does a person even  _ wear _ to drop off a printed out application to a sports bar? She didn’t want to seem  _ overdressed  _ or come off as  _ too _ rich like she didn’t even need the extra money...On the other hand, she didn’t want to come in too  _ casual.  _ Really, this was absolutely a question to ask Mia. Back in high school if any of them had a problem they would consult with the other two, it was a perfect sense of checks and balances. Kimberly picked out the pink pants for good luck, a nice blouse and a vest. Ugh, there was no actual flattering place to take her picture. The dorm room’s full sized mirror practically distorted her body or made it nearly impossible to take a good selfie, it’d look even  _ worse _ trying to get a photo in the bathroom. It wasn’t like Rita would give good advice, or any at all, they weren’t  _ that  _ kind of roommates; the ones that considered each other to be best of friends. 

This should be just fine. Besides, she didn’t want to constantly rely on Mia and Emma, how could she grow into her own person if she kept using them as a safety net? If this job interview didn’t work out for her, well, then next time she’d ask them for more advice but for right now she wanted to try. 

Since she didn’t have a car she would have to walk to Zordon’s, on her way she decided to stop by Harshman Hall and pay Jason a bit of a visit. He’d be happy to see a familiar face, and quite frankly she wanted to talk out her nerves with someone in  _ person _ and not over a phone call or a computer screen. Only, Jason wasn’t the one to answer the door. 

Tommy Oliver, the roommate with long hair and a green headband answered. He wore a green plaid cut off tee to show off some serious guns. He frowned in confusion, normally pretty girls didn’t come literally knocking on his door. “Hey, uh, can I help you?”

“I’m about to turn in my application and I’m kind of freaking out” Kimberly could use all the advice she could get, especially from the opposite sex. A sports bar meant waitresses tended to be on the hot side to cater to potential clientele...aka dudes who loved three things, booze, babes and chicken wings. She easily stepped past Tommy to enter the room, Jason had a tupperware container filled with...far too much water for ramen. “...Do you...did you even read the instructions?”

“...Yeah this didn’t go so hot…” Jason sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Kim. You’re going to be just  _ fine.  _ They’d be stupid not to hire you”

“Do you have any experience?” Tommy asked, folding his arms, leaving the door open to give them more of an airflow.

“...Well….not with waitressing no” Kimberly bit her lip, would that make them stupid  _ to _ hire her?

“Have you ever had a  _ job?”  _ Kimberly did not appreciate twenty questions Tommy, but she knew that he was  _ trying _ to help.

Jason could see Kimberly shrinking into herself, and that was  _ no _ way to drop off an application, “Everyone has a  _ first _ job sometime in their life” He tried to reassure her with positivity, “You just have to be  _ confident. _ You’re selling  _ you”  _ Tommy and Kimberly  _ both _ frowned at Jason’s statement, “...I didn’t mean like...sexually...that’s….” He tried to backtrack, his voice softening, it was far too late, “A different profession”

“No, I know” Kimberly shook out her shoulders, “If I could be at the top of the pyramid I can do this”

Jason clapped his hands together, in football the best way to motivate a player was to literally get in their face. “You are Kimberly Hart” He pointed to the door, “You are going to walk in there, and own that place. Do you hear me?”

Kimberly craned her neck back, her eyes wide, glancing off to the side to Tommy. He looked both scared for Kim, and happy that he  _ wasn’t _ involved in this peptalk. “Sir yes sir?”

“C’mon you gotta  _ feel _ it” Jason wasn’t going to let up, he rested his hands on Kim’s shoulders, shaking them out. “Loosen up, jump up and down, do what you gotta do to shake the nerves”

“Go team” Tommy added, raising a fist and adding a less than enthusiastic, “Woo”

“Dude…” The former quarterback could only do so much if the participants were unwilling, “C’mon”

“No, thanks” Kimberly heaved out one  _ big  _ sigh. “I think I needed that” This was a  _ job _ at a wing place, she did  _ not _ need to get into her head about this. “Okay, um, I’ll text you later?” Jason nodded his head, he knew that she needed to get out while her spirits were at the highest point. “It was nice meeting you Tommy”

Tommy smiled, “Likewise” 

Hopefully this could mean that Kimberly’s Angel Grove friend count could rise from 1 to 2.

*****

Walking to Zordon’s gave Kimberly a chance to mentally talk herself through many of fake interviews, with many fake questions that could possibly be asked. No, she didn’t have any experience with a job, in food service, in  _ service,  _ but she was a former cheerleader...people  _ liked _ her and she never had much of a problem when it came to socializing. Kim checked her phone to see two messages sitting in the group chat...both messages of good luck from the likes of Mia and Emma. These damn pink pants better be as lucky as Mia claimed to be, if they could attract a hot girl’s dog, surely they could reel in a paying job.

When Kimberly stepped in she went straight to the hostess desk, there wasn’t much of a crowd at all so one of the waitresses from the back had to come up and speak with her. Oh good. It was the  _ hot _ one from the other day, Didi...or something...when a girl’s  _ that _ hot it was hard to comprehend speech. Call it a flaw. Boys were always  _ easier _ for Kimberly, they were the ones fumbling their words around her. Not the other way around.

“Hi, I um” Jason’s words flashed through her mind. No. She was Kimberly  _ fucking _ Hart and she was going to  _ own _ this place. Figuratively. Her major wasn’t in business management. “I’d like to turn this in” 

“Oh” The waitress did a quick up down of Kim, she must’ve liked what she saw, “The managers actually here if you want to do an interview”

“That...that’d be wonderful” What were the chances of that? She was just hoping that someone would call her in a couple of days but if she could make a  _ first impression _ oh she so felt like she had this one in the bag. “Thank you”

“Sure” With a hand motion she urged Kimberly to follow her along the row of empty booths and past her co-workers to a room in the back designated for the manager. No turning back now. Didi knocked on the door with the back of her hand, opening the door before the third knock, and leaning in. For someone talking to her manager she seemed  _ awfully _ chill about it, “Hey, I got someone here for an interview. You free for a couple minutes?”

“Oh, of course” A woman in her early forties was the one to greet her server with a smile, she motioned for Kimberly to sit in one of the chairs across from her desk. “You caught me at a good time” Must be Kimberly’s lucky day. Didi set the resume down and turned to leave. Here it goes.

Kimberly sat across from the manager of the establishment, her hands folded nicely in her lap. A quiet silence filled the room as the older woman read through Kim’s resume, it didn’t take her very long as Kim didn’t have  _ any _ work experience. “So…”

“Look, I know that’s...not impressive” Kim rubbed the back of her neck, the pressure of putting on a good impression hit her hard. Maybe she should have followed her gut and get a haircut, appear more mature. “In high school I had to balance a busy schedule…” As the manager would’ve read the volunteer work that Emma and Mia got her involved with, “So I do have experience with balancing school and responsibilities” 

“It’s okay, this is a college town” The older woman wanted to ease Kim’s mind, “This is a jumping point to start building your resume for the future” Because in a college town, employees didn’t  _ stay,  _ once they graduated they moved on to what they  _ studied _ and aspired to be. “Are you a student at the university?”

“Ah, yeah it’s my freshman year” Kimberly smiled, feeling lighter now that the glaring flaw of her resume was addressed. “I’m going to apply for the business college next semester, I just need to take care of my core classes first”

“Why do you think you’ll be a good fit here at Zordon’s?” That was a fair question...Kimberly didn’t want to sound  _ desperate,  _ and say that she  _ needed _ a job or that she had an arrangement with her parents. She didn’t think that would come off well. Obviously she needed money, that didn’t need to be  _ said.  _

“In high school I was a cheerleader, so interacting with people is one of my stronger suits” Kimberly folded her hands, “I work well with other people...and if I were to be honest I’d rather work  _ here _ than in retail…” Mm, she probably shouldn’t have thrown another place under the bus, “What I mean is your staff, the atmosphere...you get a great feeling here and I think I can contribute” Complimenting the place never hurt. Besides, she wasn’t wrong. People who worked at the campus, or at the supermarket tended to look  _ miserable _ all the time.

After a few more scenario based questions the manager was able to make an informed decision,  “Well, with a new semester and a new year it does mean I’m looking for part time work. I can work with your class schedule, and we can figure out what suits us the best” She stood up, offering Kimberly her hand to take, “Welcome to Zordon’s” Did...did she actually just  _ get _ this job? Just like that? 

The older woman led Kimberly to the door, motioning for her newest employee to follow her, “Trini?” The manager called for her head waitress to come over.  _ Trini,  _ not Didi. Kimberly had to remember that before making a damn fool of herself. “This is Kimberly, you’re going to be training her for the next couple of weeks...Kim, this is my daughter Trini”  _ Daughter.  _ The hot girl’s  _ mother _ is the  _ manager.  _ That just got more complicated. 

“Hi” Kimberly offered her hand for Trini to shake, she had to make a better impression now that the two were going to be coworkers. She could  _ feel _ Trini glancing her over and sizing her up, making her own opinion on whether or not she’d fit for this place or if she could keep up. 

“I’m going to start getting paperwork ready” They could work out the finer details later, “Kim, if you need anything at all you can come to my office” She paused fully realizing she never  _ formally _ introduced herself outside of her formal title, “I’m June, my husband Gabriel is the active manager for the night shifts. We bought out the restaurant when the previous owner died, we were very close to him”

Trini slowly nodded her head, “He was my Godfather” After an awkward beat of silence, the short waitress clapped her hands together, “Wow, that got sad fast” She sent her mother a  _ ‘way to bring it down’  _ look. “Let me take it from here, alright?”

“Alright, alright” June held her hands up in defense, a mother getting out of her cool daughter's way, “...I’ll leave you two girls to it, make sure she goes home with a menu to study”

Trini sighed heavily, like a reluctant teenager embarrassed by their parent, “I know, I know, this isn’t the first girl I’ve trained” She and her mother exchanged a glance or two, a silent conversation. “C’mon Kim, you can follow me”

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity” Kimberly wanted to let June know how much she appreciated taking the chance on her. She smiled politely in the older woman’s direction before doing as she was told and following the shorter girl who walked with a sway of her hips. 

“You ever waitress before?” Trini asked, taking a moment to pause once they were far enough away from her mother’s office. 

“Nope…” Kim’s lips turned into an awkward, apologetic smile, “This is kinda my first job”

“Ah, alright, s’okay” She wanted to gauge how much she would have to teach Kim, “I’ll just have you shadow me a bit longer” Trini turned, motioning to the tables, “Just an FYI, my mom’s a good boss but she can be intense. You’ll have to take a couple of quizzes.” When Kim’s eyes widened, Trini put a hand up, “Don’t worry, nothing  _ crazy,  _ just so she knows that  _ you _ know the menu, policies, and an empty map to fill in table numbers...she likes to cover her bases” She nudged Kim’s side with her elbow and smirked in a way that made Kim weak in the knees, “Stick with me, I’ll take care of you”

“O-okay” Kimberly Hart. Kimberly goddamn Hart was far better than this. To get tongue tied around a pretty girl. She chalked it up to nerves of being at her first job, that was  _ totally _ it. 

“I’ll just give you a quick tour, do some introductions” Trini didn’t want to totally overwhelm the new girl and push her into the deep end. “Fill out some paperwork with my mom and you can have a fresh start tomorrow”   

“Whatever you want, I’m all yours” Kimberly took a moment to close her eyes and mentally scream,  _ really?  _ C’mon Kim.

Trini led Kimberly to the front of the restaurant to introduce her to the teenage host, Justin. He seemed sweet enough. Kimberly only got two things out of the short introduction, that he worked here at Zordon's to try to save up for a car, and that he  _ totally _ thought that she was a hot. As a former cheerleader she totally and completely saw the signs of an experienced boy checking her out. After fumbling her words so much with Trini, it was nice confirmation to Kim that she had it. 

More importantly, the host's station had one of two phones that were used to take carry out orders. The other was located in the bar, their next location on the little tour. Since it was such an odd time, Zordon's was between shifts. The lunch rush had left and dinner wouldn't be starting for another couple of hours so Kimberly wouldn't have to meet  _ too _ many people on the quick run tour. The bartender that was far out of Jason's league was working this afternoon and god, the closer Kim got the more she realized Jason  _ really _ didn't have a chance with her. The bartender, Tanya, was nothing but personable and really open to teaching Kimberly the ropes and giving advice and if she were ever in the weeds or dealing with a jackass of a customer that  _ she _ was the one to go to. Kimberly only talked to her for a couple of moments but...she wasn't a girl to piss off. Mental note not to get on her bad side. 

"Ah don't let her intimidate you" Trini reassured Kimberly as they started to walk toward a booth in the corner of the restaurant. A couple of girls were sitting and rolling silverware into napkins to prepare for night rush."Tanya's my girl, she's fun. If you're ever interested in the nightlife and wanna come to the clubs with us..."

"Yeah?" Kimberly liked being around Jason, but it felt a bit pathetic to call the former jock from high school her  _ only _ friend. "I'd love to..." One to spend more time with Trini,  _ two  _ to actually find a cool place in Angel Grove to be. She trusted Trini and Tanya's tastes. 

"She's here for  _ two _ minutes and you're already corrupting her?" One of the servers, a tiny black girl with braids for days shook her head in disapproval at a smirking Trini. "Are you even old enough to drink?"

"Well no..." Just out of high school Kimberly wouldn't be able to drink  _ legally _ for a couple of years. "But there's no age requirement for dancing" Her answer made the girls around her laugh, so this was her chance to introduce herself proper. "I'm Kim"

"Aisha" The one looking out for Kim's best interest spoke first, motioning across the table to the much taller girl, her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, "This is Kat"

"Hey" The blonde kindly smiled in her direction, "Don't worry, June runs this place like a  _ family,  _ we're all here to support each other" Kat set a wrapped set of silverware in a bin, "I know it all seems overwhelming at first but once you get in the swing of it...it's pretty easy"

"Is Zack here yet?" Trini asked a concerned look in her eye, her attention focusing on Aisha. Zack, the cute waiter...he was the one who had to leave early in the middle of his shift the other day. What was up with that?

“Yeah, he’s in the kitchen grabbing something to eat” Aisha set Trini at ease with that confirmation, “He was actually looking for you”

A smug smile formed on Trini's face. The young waitress tapped her fingers against the table, "He must have the money he owes me"

Kat beamed, excited for her friend, "So, that girl gave you her number?" Kimberly blinked in surprise, people aren't normally  _ that _ open about their sexuality at work. Then again, Trini was the daughter of the manager. It was an added bonus that this was a safe space.

"I wish" Trini shrugged her shoulders, confirming that  _ yes _ she was still single, "Nah, the Cowboys won last night" Football, made sense as this was a sports bar. She looked over to Kimberly, "You a football fan?"

Clearly the answer should be yes, though Kimberly didn't care  _ much  _ for the sport, "I used to be a cheerleader in high school" She said, as if that actually answered Trini's question. Trini quirked her brow, intrigued by the new employee, Aisha seemed to be impressed, while Kat on the other hand continued to roll silverware; not surprised by Kimberly's past. 

"Oh Zack's going to love you" Aisha was the first to comment, lightly laughing as if it were an inside joke Kimberly wasn't apart of.

Trini’s eyes narrowed but chose not to push it further, “C’mon Kim, I’ll take you to the kitchen”

Kimberly politely smiled to the other waitresses before following Trini to the back, a place she would need to get familiar with quick. The back had a pretty basic layout, a sanitation station for dirty dishes, a double decker table where finished orders were placed on the top section, and then another prep area for salads and desserts. Since it was a slow time, and there weren’t many people in the restaurant, Kimberly and Trini walked in on Zordon’s staff hanging out by a radio; listening in on a sports game. 

“Yo, guys” Trini made her presence known, “This is Kim, she’s gonna be working here” Since Kim recognized Zack the waiter, it was safe to assume that the three other men here were the ones that worked the kitchen. “Kim, this is Adam Park, Rocky DeSantos, Trey Triforia” Kimberly simply rose her hand to wave at them, the three boys were nothing but welcoming. “And Zack Taylor...who I believe owes me twenty bucks” 

“Yeah, yeah rub it in my face” Zack reached into his pocket to pull out a crumpled up twenty dollar bill. Money was money, Trini had no qualms picking it off of him and setting it in her back pocket. “Hope this one hasn’t scared you off” He grinned, while Trini rolled her eyes.

Adam motioned to the door behind him, “You’ve got company out back”

“Shit, I didn’t even realize the time” Trini could only send Kim an apologetic smile, “Sorry, I gotta go...Zack you mind taking over?”

“I will for twenty bucks” He smiled, a desperate attempt to try to get his money back. Trini tilted her head to the side, her hands on her hips, she wasn’t going to budge on this one. The boys around were getting a total kick out of it, “I’m kidding just go”

“Cool” Trini focused her attention to the only other girl in the room, “You’ll meet everyone else as time goes on” As this was only one shift, there were plenty of other Zordon employees that  _ weren’t _ here, “If you need anything” She took out her pen from her waitress book to write her phone number down on Kimberly’s arm. “Give me a call” 

“Anything at all, hm?” Kimberly felt a surge of confidence. She blundered too much earlier, if she was going to make her bi-ness known... _ now _ would be her opportunity. If she could wear  _ pink pants _ to a job interview, she could get her flirt on. “What’s the policy on dating a coworker?”

Judging by the way Trini’s eyebrows shot up, Kimberly knew she was surprised by the question. Unfortunately, as there were four other people in the room, the first person that spoke was Adam. “Oh, there’s no real  _ rule _ against it” He smiled, “Tanya’s my girlfriend, it’s all about keeping professional at work” The Asian boy rubbed his neck, “And don’t ever get caught in a PDA situation around June” Rocky beside him let out a hearty chuckle at his friend’s apparent expense. 

“Uh, yeah what he said” Trini shook her head, whatever moment was building was sort of ruined. “I’ll catch you around Kimberly…” She headed to the back door, where just for a second Kimberly could see that she was meeting up with another girl with a bright yellow motorcycle. Moments later, anyone in the kitchen could hear the bike rev up and make it’s way on out of there. Who was  _ that?  _ Was that Trini’s girlfriend? ...A dealer? Meeting behind a restaurant felt a bit shady to Kim.

Zack sucked the rest of the contents of his drink so hard that he started to slurp at the bottom of the cup, “I’m gonna give you a piece of advice” He set the now empty cup to the side, “Be careful” He didn’t need to say it out loud, Kimberly wasn’t exactly being subtle, “...Trini’s not really in the market for a  _ girlfriend _ right now” As a cheerleader, Kimberly had  _ plenty _ of experiencing witnessing an  _ ‘it’s complicated’  _ zone. Zack didn’t want to get into too many details of Trini’s private life.

Kimberly was just  _ starting _ her  _ freshman _ year of college, she wasn’t exactly in the market to try and settle for a committed relationship right off of the bat. “I’m just looking for a good time” Something simple, casual...and it sounded like Trini had that in common. 

Rocky was the one to laugh, “Well, you’ve come to the right place”  

 

**_~~~~~Emma~~~~~_ **

_ Kimberly Hart 4:55  
_ _ Guess who got a job! _

_ Mia Watanabe 4:47 _ _   
_ _ If it’s not you then this is totally anticlimactic _

_ Emma Goodall 5:00  
_ _ I can’t wait to hear all about it! <3  _

Emma set her phone down on her bed before plopping down next to it moments later. Her heart filled with warmth every time she received a message from her group chat. The hardest part about moving to New York City easily had to be that she would be away from her best friends, her  _ sisters.  _ In the city that never sleeps, Emma had to start to find her own path in a sea of talented people. Intimidating to say the least, and definitely a big adjustment from their small town in California. The first couple of weeks were an adjustment period for her, but with classes it gave her a place to go to every day. 

As far as the roommate situation went, Emma didn’t envy Kimberly’s situation at all. Though, she wasn’t on the  _ best _ of terms with her roommate Vida Rocca. Right away the two knew that they wouldn’t be greatest of gal pals due to having little in common. Emma’s side of the room was full of pink, butterflies and photos of her friends while Vida absolutely hated the color pink and had a more punk goth approach to life. Emma was a type of person who saw the glass half full while Vida saw it half empty. They got along enough to be able to occupy the same space and respect each other’s space. Really, for a roommate that was all that mattered at the bottom line. It bummed Emma out that they weren’t  _ close,  _ but accepted it for what it was. 

Despite not hitting it off and becoming bffs with her roommate, Emma quickly found friendship in a couple of boys that lived on their floor. Noah Carver and Jake Holling, two roommates that didn’t have much in common but were doing their best to make it work out. Jake was an outgoing type involved in club soccer, while Noah on the other hand was the complete opposite; an introverted intellectual who would much rather play D&D online than go to an actual sporting event.

Then there was Troy Burrows, the attractive boy down the hall that Emma  _ may _ have been totally crushing on. The two hit it off almost instantly as he had the face and body of a greek god with a desire to model on the side to pay for school, and Emma wanted to build her photography portfolio. With him rounding off the group to four, Emma had a nice found support group, or if anything; boys to walk her around the streets of the city. As someone new to the big apple, she certainly felt safer around Troy, Jake and Noah.  

As much as she enjoyed Jake and Noah’s company, Emma wanted to spend some one on one time with Troy. She took advantage of a discounted drawing class offered to NYU students, it would be an opportunity to round off their skill set; but really it was a way to get some one on one time with Troy as Jake and Noah had no interest in art. A brilliant plan, one that Kimberly would be proud of.

“Hey” Troy leaned up against the doorframe, his voice pulling Emma’s attention away from her phone. The freshman boy had two coffee’s in his hand, one for him and one for his friend. He nodded his head in Vida’s direction to acknowledge the roommate’s existence. She wasn’t impressed, she rolled her eyes and went back to her book. “O-kay...you ready to go?”

“Mhmm” Emma grabbed a light jacket to go. A night class meant that it would be cooler outside and she had already made that mistake. New York in September is no southern California. “Let’s go” 

Emma’s only dating experience in high school had been with a gay boy who didn’t really  _ realize _ it until he was with her. It was tough, even if she was happy for him to start a journey of self discovery. She understood, having gone through something similar herself. She longed to have another connection with someone who could  _ return _ those feelings in a similar way. With Troy she felt that spark of attraction almost immediately. Was most of it physical? Absolutely, she had eyes, but she didn’t want to make any sort of  _ move _ until she got to know him better as a friend. Late night drawing class allowed them to meet beforehand and grab pizza, or have a long walk in the city, ride the subway together and have a chance to talk about anything that came to mind. 

Due to her closeness with Troy, she wasn’t very well liked amongst the other girls on her floor. It was obvious that most of them wanted a slice of that action and with Emma paling around she became an obstacle. It hurt Emma at first, but she learned to adjust, to toughen up. This was New York after all, and in the city that never sleeps a person needed some thicker skin. Besides, Emma could never replace Kimberly and Mia, not even with her new guy friends.

When the two finally arrived to the art class, tall canvas boards were arranged in a circle around a focal point. That way everyone could see what their subject to draw would be. The teacher must not have set up anything yet as there was an empty space. Troy excused himself to go to the nearby restroom so he wouldn’t have to leave in the middle of class. It gave Emma the task of saving a seat for him. As she was setting up her station, she was approached by a young blonde woman, sitting down where  _ Troy _ was supposed to be. 

“Oh I’m sorry, that’s saved for someone” Emma didn’t like confrontation, her voice was too soft to be taken seriously, in the past she always had Kim or Mia speak up for her. She paused, it had already been a couple of weeks and she didn’t recognize the blonde at all. Emma would have remembered seeing  _ her _ face. “Is this your first day?”

“You could say that” She responded, but hadn’t moved out of Troy’s seat just yet. The stranger nervously tapped her finger to her knee as she observed her surroundings, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to” It clicked to her that this seat wasn’t meant for her, “I’m not…” She let out a breath, “I’m just a little nervous. I’ve never done this before”

Draw? Come to a night class? Emma reassured the other girl with a smile, “It’s okay, everyone’s super mature here” This wasn’t high school anymore, people didn’t  _ take _ art because they  _ wanted _ to or had  _ talent.  _ They had to take it simply to check off a box and some jocks...were not meant to mingle into fine arts. Here in this class, Emma didn’t have to worry about someone making an asinine comment or drawing dicks everywhere as a joke. “I’m Emma”

“Gia” The blonde smiled in Emma’s direction, that inadvertently sent a jolt through Emma. Oh no, she’s so pretty, “I’ll be okay...sorry, I should go get ready” She laughed, “You’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon”

“I’d like that” Gia’s brows quirked up at Emma’s statement. Emma was always open to meeting and making  _ new  _ friends. She had to start reaching past her dorm room floor and mingle a bit. “I’m sure you’re going to do just fine”

Troy returned from the restroom as soon as Gia was getting up off of his stool. She smiled once more in Emma’s direction and kindly saying her goodbyes before taking leave in the direction Troy had just come from. “You’re blushing” Troy commented, sitting down, he smirked as he started to get his supplies ready. “Didn’t realize you swung that way”

“What?” Emma didn’t  _ realize _ how much the blonde actually affected her, oh no, now Troy thought she was into girls. Well. She  _ was _ into girls but she liked guys as well, “I’m not-I like guys too” That seemed to bring a smile to Troy’s face, as if he was testing the waters with her to see what she would say. It took so much self control for her  _ not _ to utter the words  _ ‘I like you’.  _

“She’s hot” Troy commented, leaning back on his stool, simply waiting out the clock for class to start. “I think she’s a model”

“Oh she could  _ totally _ be a model” Emma had to agree, gosh she would  _ love _ to take pictures of the other girl. For her portfolio of course. 

Their instructor finally came into the room and made their way to the center, instantly silencing the room from their private conversations, “As we all know today, we’re going to be starting a new unit. Now  _ because _ our subject today is a  _ human being _ I would like to take the time to remind you all of the golden rule.  _ Respect.”  _ Gia entered the room, only wearing a robe and stood at the instructors side, “Everyone this is Gia, she’s volunteered to help us out today. Whenever you’re ready”

“Okay” The blonde nodded her head, taking a moment to scan the room once more until her eyes found Emma across the way. Gia took in a breath, a calm washing over her as she found comfort in a kind stranger. It gave her the courage to drop her robe leaving  _ nothing _ to the imagination.   
  
_ Oh. No.  _ Emma spent the first moments simply staring, she had never seen another person  _ that _ naked before and wow... _ wow.  _ She didn’t even realize her jaw dropped ever so slightly. Troy cleared his throat next to her, jumping Emma to start drawing  _ something.  _ A beautiful woman in front of her and a handsome man right next to her left Emma in a bit of a dilemma. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a bit of a building chapter to introduce new characters and love interests ;) we'll hit up what Mia's been up to in the next chapter and of course...Kimberly still has those pants. :D


	3. Gay Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long week of work, Kimberly is invited out on the town with her co-workers. Only to find out that she agreed to hit up a gay bar. If she wanted to get an in with Trini...this would be her chance to prove that she could keep up with the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your comments/kudos taking the time to read! This one's just been some good fun and I'm glad you're enjoying it!
> 
> WARNING: Some underage drinking in this

_Emma Goodall 7:59_ _  
_ _Help I’m a bi-disaster_

 _Kimberly Hart 8:04  
_ _LOL been there_

**~~~~~Mia~~~~~**

Oh woe is Emma, surrounded by _two_ extremely attractive people to choose from. Mia had her own problems, namely Lauren Shiba...her _TA._ Yale was _supposed_ to be about being around her peers, people who were on her level of intellect but _goddamn_ she found herself daydreaming in her first real pre-law class. Who was she? This was _so_ high school, to crush on a teacher, well, teacher’s _assistant,_ there was a total difference. This was _so_ unethical, and completely against the rules. Mia refused to be the type of girl to flirt with a teacher’s assistant to get ahead. Scratch that. She wouldn’t be flirting with Lauren for the pure intention of getting a better grade...she genuinely had feelings for the blonde. Maybe that’s what made it worse.

“So” Currently Mia was sitting on a park bench with her roommate Emily. Unlike Kimberly and Emma, Mia lucked out with her living situation. She and the petite blonde with a pension for pastel yellow cardigans got along instantly. Emily filled the Kimberly and Emma shaped holes in Mia’s life. The two would go to the store together, stay up and watch favorite shows, quiz each other when they needed to study, they even color coordinated and decorated their room with pink and yellow. “Did you invite me out to coffee so we could _actually_ spend time together, or so you could watch your TA jog?” Emily knew Mia all too well.

Mia brought her coffee cup to her lips, refusing to answer that question. Her eyes following the athletic blonde, her shiba inu at her side as the pair jogged by. Short black running shorts and a red tank top...Lauren looked _so_ great in the color red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Mm” Emily had been dating the same boyfriend since freshman year of high school, so she had no room to judge Mia and her thirst for the older girl. “Whatever you say Mia”

**~~~~~Kimberly~~~~~**

It didn’t take Kimberly _too_ long to get into the swing of waitressing. Most of the popular menu items were chicken wings with different types of sauces on them. The order entry system was pretty hands on and easy to use, it was all about keeping a smile and making sure she got the food from point A. to point B. Trini and the other waitresses were super helpful in making her feel included and would give advice to her when they could to make certain tasks seem quicker.   
  
Everyone helped out at Zordon’s. If the server’s weren’t at a table, or in the back collecting food, they would be assisting the restaurant in other ways. Making sure the silverware was all wrapped and ready for the host stand, that the waitress stations would be stocked with ice at all times, and Kimberly’s _least_ favorite part...making sure there were enough sliced lemons at any given time.

As a manager June had some pretty strict policies when it came to cell phones. It made _Zordon’s_ look bad if servers were caught looking at their phones instead of _working._ Kimberly didn’t know how Kat, Trini or Aisha could come off as so relaxed...on busy nights she felt like she looked crazy going back and forth to cover her section in a dinner rush.

On her first Friday on the job, Kimberly decided that this would be the best day to wear the magical pink pants before shipping them to Emma in New York. Dinner rushes on a weekday didn’t compare at _all_ to the craziness that came with a _Friday_ on a college campus. Avid fans of sports came to eat chicken wings and beer to have a good time. With the dart boards, billiard tables and large bar it made for the perfect watering hole for the average college student.  

Wanting to be supportive to their friend, Jason and Tommy came in for the night and requested to be apart of her section. The two roommates split an appetizer and were perfectly fine relaxing in their table and racking up a nice tab. Bigger the bill bigger the tip. On her second day, Trini had given Kimberly the run down of what kind of people tip well. If guys thought they actually had a chance, or were too drunk to do math, tips tended to go well. College students in general either _knew_ how to tip just right, stiff on tip because they’re young or go above and beyond because they knew what it was like in a former job.

“Hey, how’re you doing?” Jason asked when Kimberly brought out their massive amount of wings to share. _That_ was one part Kimberly didn’t enjoy... _watching_ people eat chicken wings wasn’t the most attractive.

Kimberly talked to Jason practically every day since their encounter in french class. He knew the gist of her daily life through her text messages. Her first couple of days had gone well, she didn’t have any problems with her co-workers and she felt like she had good rapport with June. Learning the ropes would come with any sort new position, naturally she made some rookie mistakes back in the kitchen, but most of that was to be expected. “It’s a bit overwhelming”

“After dinner, Jason and I are going to start a marathon of extremely bad shark movies” Tommy smiled sympathetically as another table off in a different section started yelling in excitement over their favorite team. Pair loud patrons with music, and Friday nights could feel like a sensory overload to the new employee, “If you want something to do to unwind after work” Both Tommy and Jason knew how much Kimberly hated being in her dorm room.

“We have a futon” Jason offered, “If you wanted to crash”

“Honestly, that sounds awesome” Kimberly exhaled, she would have to check on her other tables and go back to the kitchen soon.

Before Kimberly could leave her two friends, Jason nodded in the direction of the billiards tables, “I never thought I’d see _this_ in a hundred years”

Kimberly’s attention turned to the billiard table in question to see that not only was Billy Cranston _here,_ he had the company of two beautiful African American girls with him; one in pink and one in white. As the restaurant was too loud to hear what they were saying, she had to resort to observing his body language. Here at Angel Grove State University, Billy was cool and confident, entertaining the likes of the girls by performing trick shots on the table. The boy utilized his intellect and penchant for geometry to get his _flirt_ on.

“He’s…” Kimberly had to blink, she never witnessed the boy _so_ outgoing before, dare she say Billy Cranston was actually... _sexy?_ No. No, no. The world must’ve been ending. “Who’re those girls?”

“Shelby and Hayley” Tommy answered, “They’re both girls who live down the hall, went to high school together and became roommates” He shook his head in utter disbelief, “Billy’s the _coolest_ guy on our floor”

“Here he is with _two_ girlfriends and we can’t even get _one”_ Jason sighed, drowning his sorrow and jealousy into his beverage.

“Whoa _what!?”_ Kimberly _needed_ to get back to work, but hearing this about someone she want to highschool with. _What?_ “That _can’t_ be true”

Tommy shrugged, “They’re always around, and when they’re in his room he _closes_ the door” He looked to Jason across the table, “He doesn’t do that for the guys”

“Maybe he’s just being a _gentleman_ and giving them privacy” Kimberly suggested, not wanting to believe a rumor out of a _boy’s_ dorm room.

“And why else would you need privacy?” Tommy challenged, tilting his head, “If they’re just “playing video games”.” The long haired boy put up his hands in defense, chuckling to himself, “Don’t let the innocent faces fool you. I hear some pretty wild stuff happens at band camp” Maybe he was right...band camp was rumored to be a gateway into sexual experimenting for nerds.

Still, until knowing for _sure_ Kimberly wanted to give her old classmate the benefit of the doubt. “You guys have an active imagination” She laughed, “But really, I’ve gotta get back” Kimberly could leave the boys to their speculation of Billy’s love life.

Once she returned to the kitchen it was time to bust her ass to play catch up with the rest of her tables. When watching Kimberly try to rest four plates on her arms to take out, Trini stepped in and took two of them off her hand. As a rookie there was no business trying to pull out a skill like that, not when there was too much going around. June could not afford dropped food in the kitchen and making her customers wait when it could be resolved via a follow. “Don’t try too much too fast” Trini warned, “Took me months before I could get the balance” And trying something like that on the busiest night of the week _probably_ wasn’t a great idea.

On their way back from a successful delivery of wings-n-things, Trini bumped Kimberly’s arm to grab her attention. “Hey, what’re you up to after work?”

She had literally just made plans with the boys, after a long night sitting on a futon and relaxing sounded like heaven but...if Trini had something _better_ to offer… “I don’t know, why what’s up?” Kimberly didn’t want to sound like she was totally free, in case what Trini had in mind was something she _didn’t_ want to do.

“Me n’some of the girls are going to go to a club after our shift if you wanna come with” It was _so_ hard for Kimberly to resist that face, that smile. Go watch shark movies in some dorm room, or go out and party? This was a _Friday_ night, college was about having _life experiences_ not just hiding away in a dorm room late at night. She was sure the guys would understand...besides, this would be a way to break in with her co-workers and in the best case scenario become their friends. Trini paused, lowering her voice once they got into the kitchen, “Full disclosure, it’s a _gay bar” Oh._ That would be new.

Wait. Kimberly had to think, how many of her fellow Zordon’s co-workers were some sort shade of gay?

“That’s totally cool” Kimberly had never experienced a gay bar before, if this was as fun as she hoped it would be it could be something to bring Mia and Emma to when they come down for the holidays. “...Who all’s coming with?”

Trini rattled off a couple of names, “Kat, Aisha, Rocky, hopefully Zack...I’m _trying_ to convince Tanya to come with” She laughed, “That girl’s as straight as a board, but if you _ever_ need a wingman she can smooth talk _anyone”_ Trini shrugged, “Since she got with Adam, she doesn’t go out as much” The shorter girl laughed, “It’s actually affected my game”

Kimberly still tried to wrap her head around these new revelations about her co-workers. _Zack? Kat?_ Were they _actually_ LGBT or just wanted to go out drinking and dancing? She would be learning a _lot_ about the people she worked with after hours. This would be the first _fun_ adventurous day since moving to Angel Grove. It was time for Kimberly Hart to start _living_ her college life proper. “Count me in”

Now all she had to do was to blow off her plans with Jason and Tommy. She did feel bad about having to do that, really, she liked the guys. The two were probably her only _friends_ on campus but she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. Getting out of it meant she would have to wait until the restaurant closed at midnight so she could do her job cleaning the place and more importantly, get her phone back. Sending a text message had to be the best way to let them down easy.

 _Kimberly Hart 12:35  
_ _Sorry guys, I’m so exhausted. I’m going to just head back to my dorm and crash. Raincheck on the movie night? I owe you one_

She fully intended to spend _a_ movie night with the boys, just...not _tonight._ Kimberly also ruled out inviting them, this was a gay bar and she didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable. Besides, if she had them along she’d have to cater to them. Going out with her co-workers had to be something she did alone. The night was still young, and the exhausted Zordon’s staff wanted to get out and enjoy their Friday night. Most of them that is.

Tanya addressed the group of girls who were getting ready with an apologetic smile, “Sorry, I’m out tonight. I’m beat” Adam came out of the kitchen, now dressed in something more comfortable, he went behind the bar to wrap his arms around his girlfriend. The two looked like they were ready to turn in and sleep for the night.

“Okay _but_ next time we go, we’ll try to make it a night you’re not working” Trini didn’t have any hard feelings. Working the bar and _then_ going to a club was a _lot_ to put on someone back to back without much of a break. “Get some sleep”

Kat glanced over to Kimberly, trying not to come off as too hopeful when asking, “Are you coming with us?”

“I am” Kim nodded her head, it felt _good_ that her co-workers _wanted_ to be around the new girl and weren’t annoyed by her. That in itself was such an accomplishment. Next to Kat, Aisha’s smile beamed, their little gay Zordon’s family just got a little bit bigger.

“Woo! Hart’s coming along?” Zack came out of the kitchen, despite having worked for a shift his energy level was at a peak. His arms were in the air, trying to get his fellow co-worker’s excitement up to his level. Rocky was a bit _less_ enthused as he followed the waiter out to the bar. “Let’s do a pre-game shot”

Tanya folded her arms, “Are _you_ going to pay for them? Because I sure as hell am not” She was responsible for the bar and all of it’s contents. She then pointed to Kim, “This one’s underage” Right here in Zordon’s this wasn’t a buddies house, this was a business. June made the right call by hiring Tanya, someone who clearly followed her rules.

“I’ll pay for them” Trini stepped up and motioned for Tanya to start laying down the shots. She pulled a pair of twenties out of her wallet and told her friend to keep the change for herself. That ought to cover five shots...and a water. Zack and Rocky clapped for the leader of their little pack; appreciating the gesture of a free shot.

As Tanya poured the others a shot, Kimberly pulled out her phone to check her messages.

 _Jason Scott 12: 40  
_ _That’s okay! Sounds like you had a rough day. If you’re interested to hang out tomorrow...Billy invited us to go to a gaming club meeting_

Oh that did _not_ sound appealing, but she _did_ feel bad about canceling on them. Crap. Wanting to balance out her karma, Kimberly typed out a response.

 _Kimberly Hart 12:43  
_ _Sure, I’m in, but we have to stop at the post office sometime_

Tonight would be her last night wearing the pink pants before she’d have to ship the lucky charm off to Emma in New York. God, what did she sign herself up for by agreeing to go to a _gaming club?_ That was totally a problem for future Kim, tonight, it was time to _party._

*****

Kimberly wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to a _gay bar_ in the city of Angel Grove. Maybe it was a lot like Zordon’s, a small hole in the wall kind of place that just _happened_ to have an extremely gay clientele. It wasn’t until the group reached the entrance to the bar for Kimberly to get a real opinion of the place. The _Blue Oyster._ Huh. Well, that was straight out of the _Police Academy_ films back in the day. So much for a little dive bar, this place was more like a nightclub straight out of New York. A neon lit bar, trendy couches around for seating as well as standing tables. There was even a live DJ with a huge dancefloor where all kinds of couples and singles were getting down. For it being past midnight this party felt like it was _just_ getting started.

Right away Kimberly’s hand was marked with a big red X, the joys of being underage when everyone else could get their drink on. Kim must’ve looked like a deer caught in headlights as she tried to take it all in and process it. Who knew Angel Grove had a _cool_ spot, right down town?

Trini was the first one in, turning around to face the group with a wide grin, “So what’re we thinking? Drinks? Dancing?” She clapped her hands together, “The night is young”

“Drinks” Rocky spoke for everyone, “I’m going to need at _least_ another shot before going out there”

Zack rested his hands on the chef’s shoulders, trying to shake him out and loosening him up, “You need to _relax,_ don’t think so much” He tilted back, making eye contact with Trini, “We’re going to need some liquid courage here pronto”

“Cool” Trini motioned for Kimberly to come stand by her side, “There’s some people I want you to meet. Hey don’t worry we’ll take care of you...we look out for our own”

“And split the uber cost” Kat added bringing up the rear with Aisha as they made their way to the bar.

“Hey, I’m down for whatever” Kimberly saw a _lot_ as a former cheerleader. Wild nights of truth or dare, spin the bottle, I never. Just because Kim was underage didn’t mean she never had a drink before. Besides, with a new group of people, she had to rise to the occasion and prove that she could keep up with her older co-workers.

“Atta girl” Zack rested his hands on her shoulders from behind, “Yo Z!” He lifted a hand to beckon the bartender over. Kimberly recognized her as the girl Trini had met out in the back of the restaurant. The one with the yellow motorcycle. She wore a black vest over a white t-shirt, black pants, big hoop earrings and a backwards black newsboy hat to fully capture the gay vibe. “Three jolly ranchers for the ladies, and two kamikazes for Rocky n’me...and a uh water for the baby” He reached over to pat the other man’s chest, “His treat”

“Aww thanks Rocky” Aisha and Kat cooed at their friend, he smiled shaking his head, Zack was _so_ going to owe him.

“Who’s your friend?” The bartender asked, honing her focus in on Kimberly. “I’d recognize that face anywhere”

“Ey, ey she’s with me” Trini’s arm snaked around Kimberly’s waist, an effective way to get her friend behind the bar to back off. As the group waited for their drinks, Trini leaned closer to Kimberly to explain, “See the thing about college is there’s a dating pool, right? Well, for people like _us_ take maybe a sliver of that and you get _this”_ Trini’s free arm motioned to the dance floor, “The hook ups, the dating, the break ups...everyone’s got a connection to _someone_ one way or another and with a new semester brings in a fresh face...you get where I’m going with this”

“Everyone’s slept with everyone?” Kimberly asked, turning her head in the direction of the other two waitresses. Did Kat and Aisha hook up?

As if knowing what she was going to ask, Aisha waved her hand and quickly shut that down, “We’re just _friends”_

“Trini’s exhadrating” Kat put her thumb and her index finger a small distance apart, so Trini had a skewed vision of how the queer dating scene at AGSU went. “Where’s your better half?” She asked the bartender, the Zordon’s crew must see her a lot outside of the Blue Oyster.

Z smirked, finishing off the last of the mixed shots, setting them all in a nice neat circle for the group to enjoy. “Ah Syd and I just had a fight. I don’t want to get into it” She exchanged a glance with Trini, the shorter girl could only offer a sympathetic smile. Did she have something to do with said fight? What do the two of them get into outside of work? “You guys have a good night”

“Hey, I’ll catch up with you later” Trini called off as Z moved to the other side of the bar to take care of other customers. “Ah that’s Z” Trini explained to Kimberly, the others were starting to grab for a shot glass as Trini spoke, “She was my roommate Freshman year, been tight ever since”

“Ooh Freshman year feels _so_ long ago” Kat stated, _another_ reminder that Kimberly was the baby of the group. “Aisha remember when we-”

“Hey, hey no time for reminiscing” Zack did not want the nostalgia train to leave the station and dominate everything, “We gotta toast something, it’s bad luck otherwise” Was that how it worked?

“We’re toasting to Kimberly” Trini spoke up, “And her first _official_ welcome to the Zordon’s family”

“...Unfair I can’t even _drink”_ Kimberly frowned, it felt lame enough that she had an x on her hand and she couldn’t be included in the shot dedicated to _her._

“Swap with me then” Without even hesitating, Trini switched her small shot glass with Kim, completely ignoring the disapproving look radiating off of Aisha. “It’s just one shot, you’ll be _fine”_

Mia would _so_ ream her out for this, good thing Mia wasn’t here to see. This was Kimberly’s time to shine, and she downed that shot like a champion. God this tasted _so_ much better than that cheapest beer the football players could buy, just to feel a bit of a buzz. Trini, Zack, Rocky and Kat blinked in surprise at how well Kim took it. “Guys, this isn’t my first shot”

“Oh you’re going to do just fine” Trini beamed with pride, here at the gay bar she exuded a confidence that Kimberly didn’t see at Zordon’s. Here she had a _swagger,_ Kimberly could tell just by the way that she interacted with Z that she was a bit of a player on the Angel Grove scene. She saw the same kind of behavior in some of the guys on the football team. Trini walked around the Blue Oyster like she owned the place.  

“C’mon Rocky...you’re at _least_ going to _talk_ to a guy tonight” Zack patted the quieter boys back, “We’ll catch up with you later girls” With that Rocky and Zack braved their way to the dance floor. The waiter was _raring_ to go while Rocky...that poor boy was going to have to fake it till he made it.

“Look who finally showed up” A short blonde in a _tight_ black party girl dress approached the group. The new girl snaked her arms around Aisha’s waist, pulling the tiny server close to her body. In a gentler softer tone she kissed Aisha’s cheek and whispered a, “Hey babe”

As soon as she recognized the voice, Aisha relaxed into this girl’s arms, “Mm you missed first round” Technically it was the Zordons crew’s _second_ shot of the evening. Not wanting to be rude, she looked to Kimberly, “This is my girlfriend Summer, Summer this is Kim”

“Will you two get a room?” Trini frowned, Kimberly couldn’t tell if the pair being _coupley_ actually offended her, or if she was just teasing them. “It’s been what, two seconds?”

“Oh please” Summer rolled her eyes, not taking Trini’s crap at all when she looked directly to Kimberly and said, “Don’t listen to this girl’s ramblings that people can’t stay in a relationship” Her eyes narrowed to the leader of the Zordon crew, “Just because you have commitment issues” Aisha tried to shush her girlfriend, but clearly Summer had a couple drinks to lower her inhibitions.

Trini took it in stride, she was even smiling while shaking her head at the other girl, “Oh fuck you Summer”

“Mm, sorry, I’m taken” Summer bit back a sweet tone lacing her venom. “Thanks for the offer” To which Trini flicked her off. As much as Kimberly liked Trini, Summer was proving to be pretty cool herself. “Are we dancing or what?”

“Finally, yes, _please”_ Kat spoke up, not wanting to watch whatever was going to take place between these two alpha females. “I had frat boys hit on me _all_ night and I could use some therapeutic raving” As hot tall blonde of the Zordon’s staff, it wasn’t much of a surprise that she’d be the target of constant flirting and unwanted attention. Kimberly hoped she at least got some good tips out of this.

At this point Kimberly was really along for the ride. This group was well established and if they their own plans to go in one direction Kimberly would tag along. Kim still had her witts, she wouldn’t blindly follow them if they were to get into _trouble_ or on some off chance try to murder someone. This was a club, she just wanted to have a good time...and hopefully get a couple more shots coming her way if she were to be honest.

The stresses of college life, classes, trying to fit in, working, missing Mia and Emma, could all dissipate on the dance floor. Moving her body to the pounding rhythm was just what the doctor ordered. The best part? Here it was safe to get down without worrying about some guy coming up behind her and start grinding, ugh. The former cheerleader relished in being out and just having _fun_ and not _worrying_ about _anything._ She stayed closest with Kat and Trini, as Summer and Aisha were a bit too busy dancing up on one another to even notice that there was anyone else in the room. Maybe it was vain, but Trini wasn't kidding about everyone paying attention to the fresh face in the club. New blood. Oh, former cheerleader Kimberly could flash a smile back and...if other girls showed an interest in her...maybe Trini would take some extra notice. That would be just a bonus.

Zack, with two shots in hand, returned to the group of girls dancing; passing by Summer and Aisha and commenting with an 'ow ow' as Summer was getting a little handsy with Aisha's ass. "Hey Kim-Kat" He offered one to each girl, a smug grin on his face. "This one's on me" Rocky hadn't come with him so maybe, just maybe, he was getting lucky somewhere else on the dance floor.

Accepting a drink from a guy, even a guy she knew was a big no no. Mia would be completely killing her buzz, _literally._ Well, that was the thing, Mia _wasn’t_ here. She was off on the east coast living it up at her ivy league school. Emma was in _New York City,_ the world was practically her oyster out there. All Kimberly had was Angel Grove, out west, by _herself._ They could move on with their lives...so could Kim. Maybe it was a bad choice, maybe she’d regret it in the morning but she trusted Zack enough...she trusted _Kat, Trini_ and _Aisha_ enough that she would return home safely. She and Kat clinked their glasses, “Cheers”

“Alright, alright!” Zack clapped them on, it was likely he _also_ had a shot before bringing the pair their drinks.

Wow that was strong. Kimberly had exhale heavily, the alcohol burning the inside of her mouth. Kat rubbed her back, “I’m okay” With that shot out of the way, Kimberly was starting to feel the buzz, she didn’t have any qualms asking Zack, “So what’s your deal?” Because of the music she practically had to shout, “Are you even gay?” Blunt much? She was _so_ curious about her co-workers sexualities. Trini and Aisha, and Rocky she could have a good guess but Kat n’Zack...jury was still out on them.

Zack rested a hand on his chest, laughing, not at all offended by Kimberly’s blatant question. “I’m bi” Oh. Oh ho. The others didn’t understand _why_ Kimberly was laughing, damn Emma and Mia for _not_ being here in this moment. They would get it. The bi Asian chicks never ran into a bi Asian _guy_ before. He could start his own club. Kimberly was far too tipsy to think of a proper acronym that didn’t sound _bad._ BAG...BAD...BAM...she’d have to consult the BAC. “You want to dance?” Her asking must’ve sounded like she was _interested_ in him.

Kimberly could _feel_ Trini get closer, the shorter girl defended the newest member of the Zordon’s crew with a, “Get over yourself” Zack put his hands up in defense, signifying that he was going to back off hitting on the new girl. He and Kat exchanged a knowing glance, clearly Trini had her own agenda. “Aren’t you meeting up with someone soon”

“You know it” Zack’s eyes lit up, “I’ve got a grindr “date” A bar like this brought about the peak of hookup culture.

“Ugh” Kat shook her head, “I don’t know how you can hook up in a bathroom stall or an alleyway”

“You’d be surprised” Zack shrugged his shoulders, “Once I got a bl-”

“No one wants to hear your taco bell story!” Trini cut him off, despite Kimberly _actually_ wanting to hear about this taco bell story. _What!?_ This group was _fun._ “Just go” With her hand she motioned to Zack’s crotch area, “Make that happy, away from us”

Zack didn’t need to be told twice, he fake saluted the girls and headed back along his way. In the time it took for him to bring Kat and Kim a drink and head out, Summer and Aisha had left the dance floor. Then there was three. Trini, Kat and Kim all single women dancing out their problems away. Now that Kim had _two_ shots in her with very little time in between, and without any food in her stomach she could really start to feel the buzz.

“Trouble 2 o’clock” Kat being the tallest member of their little trio was able to see further into the dance floor. “Ashley” She warned Trini, as Kimberly had no idea _who_ or _what_ that meant.

Trini’s expression harshened, as she turned in the direction Kat had spotted. “Fuck, fuck, _fuck”_ Hurt flashed across her face when she noticed this brunette Ashley chick in the cute yellow top was _with_ another girl, “She’s here with _Cassie?_ Are you kidding me?” In an act of desperation Trini turned to Kat, “I need you to make out with me”

“What!? No way” Kat frowned, shaking her head, “I am _not_ getting involved in your little drama”

“I can’t be out here _alone_ when she’s with...Kat, Kitty-Kat please. I am begging you” A cool, big girl on campus like Trini wasn’t the type to _beg_ for a favor. Even if this one was a bit of a tall order, “I’ll take over one of your weekend shifts”

“Tempting but _no.”_ She did not want any part of the _girl drama_ and making another girl ‘jealous’ or evening out some sort of score. Kat was above that.

Kimberly wasn’t. She didn’t know this Ashley chick, she didn’t care, “I’ll do it” She knew it wouldn’t be a kiss that would _mean_ anything, but a person doesn’t pass up a free opportunity to lock lips with Trini Gomez.

“I knew I liked you” Trini tugged Kimberly closer by the bottom of her shirt, waiting for Kat to whisper that Ashley and her female company were coming in their direction before making the move to close the distance and capture Kimberly’s lips.

Kimberly _wasn’t_ like her sisters Emma and Mia, she didn’t need to wait for some big magical moment to kiss a person she liked. As much as she loved them, they were so inexperienced when it came to life. What was a kiss in the bar? It was _fun_ they were _young_ and Kimberly wanted to put herself out there, to _feel_ something. Oh, she felt something all right. The shorter girl moved her hands to squeeze Kimberly’s ass. Fine if she wanted to play that way, Kimberly had _no_ qualms slipping her tongue past Trini’s lips to deepen the kiss.  

The pair were too involved making out with one another that they didn’t even notice the way Kat rolled her eyes or the way Ashley changed her path to completely avoid Trini. “The coast is clear” Kat’s voice wasn’t enough to break Kimberly apart from Trini. Thankfully when the song ended Kat had about three seconds before the next song would start, so the girl clapped her hands together once, “Hey”

“What?” Trini seemed upset and irritated that she was being interrupted from a _fake_ kiss. Kimberly could be proud of _that._ “Thanks Kim” Trini let go, “I owe you one” She spoke with a lopsided grin.  

“Anytime” It was time to make _Trini_ feel like a mess for once.   

“I’m gonna…” After seeing Ashley and kissing her newest co-worker, Trini needed some time to regroup and make some better life choices, “I’m going to get another drink” Or talk things out with her bartender buddy Z. Kimberly would admittedly do the same thing if Emma was around...Mia would probably judge her too much on this one.

As soon as Trini left the dance floor, Kimberly could feel Kat lightly grip onto her arm, “Let’s take a break...get you some water”

Kimberly protested with a, “I’m fine!” As if she were a child who didn’t want to take a nap.

“We’re going to sit” As one of the older members Kat felt a responsibility to take care of Kimberly on her first time out to club with them. In reality she wanted to sit in the lounge to try and get some peace and quiet over the blasting music.

Kimberly didn’t realize just _how_ tipsy she was feeling until she sat down on one of the nice couches in the lounge. Her body didn’t have enough in her system, only the two shots, “Wow this feels good on my butt” So did Trini’s hand, but Kimberly wasn’t going to say _that_ out loud. Probably.

Kat couldn’t leave Kimberly alone in the lounge, even if it was about getting her water, so she sent out a text message and waited. “How’re you feeling?”

“Honestly? This has been my best night out here” And it totally beat watching shark movies on the syfy channel. “Thank you guys so much for inviting me out” Now it felt like it was her turn to ask Kat a question. “Who was that Ashley girl back there? What’s that all about?” What kind of drama did she sign up for by volunteering to kiss Trini?

“It’s really not my business to tell” Kat licked her lips, considering the consequences if she _didn’t_ tell Kimberly...her crush wasn’t exactly subtle to anyone who _wasn’t_ named Trini. “You’d never expect it looking at her, but Trini used to be _such_ a hopeless romantic” Some hopeless romantic, she couldn’t even be around a loving couple like Summer and Aisha without spouting some sarcastic sass. “Ashley was her first girlfriend from High School...her first...well... _everything_ as you could imagine”

Kimberly nodded dumbly, staring at Kat with wide eyes. “What happened?” Clearly by Trini’s reaction to even _seeing_ the brunette, it didn’t end well.

“It’s sad, you can do everything right and _still_ things just simply don’t work out” Kat leaned forward, if she was spilling Trini’s secrets she didn’t want anyone else to overhear, “It’s college, people aren’t always the same as they were in high school. They grow, they change, they want to start something new…” The blonde looked down to her hands, sighing, she didn’t like this next part. “Ashley fell in love with someone else while dating Trini...a boy...in my opinion she _never_ cheated and broke it off with Trini before dating him” Kat shook her head, “Ash was never that kind of person...Trini seemed to think so...she took it pretty personally”

Clearly Ashley and her boyfriend didn’t work out if she was _here_ with another girl. “...So what, Trini’s become a biphobe?”

“No, nothing like that. She’s not upset that Ashley left her for a _guy._ Just upset that she left her for another _person.”_ Kat put a hand up, wanting to silence Kimberly from continuing that line of thought, “Trini opened herself up to someone only for her heart to get ripped out of her chest. She’s never been the same...she puts up this tough girl act like some sort of security blanket” Kat chuckled to herself, “Trust me, she’s no _‘player’_ she doesn’t get around as much as she wants us all to think”

“...She’s a good kisser” Kimberly mumbled, feeling horrible that _one_ failed relationship made Trini put up walls like a fortress to protect her heart. “Jeez, so...she’s _really_ not looking for a girlfriend”

“I know you like her…” Kat bit her lip, thinking as much as her buzzed brain would let her before speaking again, “But please...be careful...I don’t want her heart to get broken again” She shook her head, “I don’t want to see _anyone_ get hurt”

Kimberly wasn’t looking to get married anytime soon, “I’ll take my chances” Just because Trini didn’t want a _girlfriend,_ didn’t mean Kimberly couldn’t _kiss her_ again...and again...maybe something more. Just because she had some unfortunate past with another girl it wasn’t going to deter Kimberly from trying. “Now if you excuse me...it’s only _1am_ and I’m going to go back out there” She _knew_ she was hot and new to the crowd here, her night was far from over and she wasn’t done dancing. “Catch you later Kat”

The night continued on and as such people in her friend group continued to sneak her drinks without knowing someone else did. First it was Summer, much to the annoyance of her girlfriend Aisha, bringing her a pink drink. Later on Rocky was able to score her a quick gummi bear shot, Zack scored huge with a long island iced tea. Should she have said no? Probably? But _free alcohol_ wasn’t something to turn down. Woo that last drink was _strong._ She was _really_ starting to feel the effects of the drinks, maybe she should’ve had something to eat…

*****

The next morning when Kimberly woke up she had to take stock in her surroundings? Where was she? Right. Aisha and Summer left on the earlier side so they could get home...Zack, Rocky, Kat and Trini arranged for an uber to take everyone home. Oh. _Oh._ Kimberly crashed on Trini’s couch, she was in Trini’s apartment. Kimberly lifted up the yellow comforter that had been keeping her warm to see that she was wearing a pair of basketball shorts. Trini’s couch, Trini’s apartment...she was wearing Trini’s _shorts._ Oh _god._ What happened to her pants? Where did she put them? Mia and Emma were going to _kill_ her if something happened to the pink pants, _their_ pink pants.

With a groan, Kimberly sat up on the couch and made an attempt to get up. Where did the sun get off on being so bright? What an asshole. She could let out a breath of relief when she noticed that Trini’s roommate, a tall blonde girl, had the pink pants in her hands, admiring them.

“Oh so you’re awake” The blonde spoke, Kimberly didn’t recognize her, “Trini’s out getting breakfast so I came home at a good time” She laughed, “She must really like you. I’m Tori...the roommate” Trini never mentioned having a roommate… “These’re yours” She folded them and set them nicely at Kimberly’s feet, “Pink pants? That’s pretty cool” And not to mention hard to pull off.

“Yeah, well, they’re magic” Kimberly said without thinking, ugh her head hurt _so_ bad she didn’t realize how that came off. Tori was looking at her as if she grew a second head.

God. Kimberly was never going to drink like that _again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will fully introduce Billy. Kimberly made a promise to go to a gaming club so I can promise a lot of hilarity to go with it. <3
> 
> Also more for Emma on chapter 4. (Mia's story will flesh out a bit in chapter 5). This is predominately a Trimberly fic but the other two will have their moments to shine

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoy this so far! <3


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